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U.S. NEWS Friday 10 June 2022
Salvadoran leader rebuffs Blinken effort to bolster summit

By CHRIS MEGERIAN and Dialogue. “You can be
JOSHUA GOODMAN tough on corruption, but
Associated Press there’s a tradeoff, and you
LOS ANGELES (AP) — It was shouldn’t expect others to
the sort of diplomatic rebuff play along just because
a small country like El Salva- there’s a phone call from
dor generally can rarely af- the White House. That’s the
ford to make. reality that the Biden team
In the run-up to this week’s doesn’t really grasp.”
Summit of Americas in Los Shifter pointed out that
Angeles, senior U.S. offi- both Bukele and Giam-
cials frantically worked the mattei were not among
phones seeking to boost the more than 100 leaders
attendance amid threats invited to attend last year’s
of a boycott from Mexico’s Summit for Democracy,
president and other leftist which included leaders of
leaders over the exclusion authoritarian bent like Bra-
of Cuba, Nicaragua and zil’s Jair Bolsonaro and Ro-
Venezuela. drigo Duterte of the Philip-
Among those efforts, the pines.
State Department sent a “These are things these
message that Secretary of leaders don’t forget,” Shift-
State Antony Blinken want- er said.
ed to speak with President U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a meeting with Panamanian Foreign Minister The State Department de-
Nayib Bukele last weekend, Erika Mouynes and Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Melanie Joly as the Summit of the Americas clined to comment when
a rare show of comity from continues in Los Angeles, Wednesday, June 8, 2022. asked Thursday about the
a Biden administration that Associated Press outreach to Bukele.
for months had been blast- sisted on being given ano- embarrassing flop at the Some, like the leaders of But Bukele’s lack of a re-
ing the Central American nymity to discuss sensitive summit. Mexico, Honduras and sponse to Blinken’s request
leader as a power-hungry diplomatic dealings. It also demonstrates how Grenada, are doing so to for a phone call convinced
populist. Another request to set up controversial leaders like protest the exclusion of U.S. officials there wasn’t
“Participating in the Sum- a call with Blinken, made Bukele, who skirted criticism fellow leftists from Cuba, much they could do to im-
mit is a very good opportu- through the U.S. Embassy in from the Trump administra- Nicaragua and Venezu- prove relations and the U.S.
nity for President Bukele to San Salvador, was similarly tion in exchange for whole- ela. Others, like Bukele and eventually dropped the
explain his perspective to rebuffed, according to the sale support of its crack- Guatemala’s Alejandro diplomatic outreach, said
the Salvadoran community two people, one of whom down on migration, have Giammattei, are frustrated a person familiar with the
in LA and Joe Biden,” Assis- showed The Associated struggled to adjust to a re- with Washington’s finger effort.
tant Secretary of State Brian Press a copy of the mes- turn to a traditional foreign wagging over corruption Bukele has won strong
Nichols wrote in a message sages. policy under Biden. and human rights abuses. support from Salvadorans
to Bukele’s ambassador in The concerted effort by Bukele is one of 11 Western “It’s clear the Biden ad- by taking a tough stance
Washington. Blinken to reach out to one Hemisphere leaders who ministration wasn’t sensi- against gangs and going
In the end, Bukele didn’t of the Biden administra- have stayed away from tive to how these leaders after traditional politicians
take the bait and the call tion’s frequent targets in the summit, which is taking were feeling,” said Michael in charge during decades
never happened, said two Latin America underscores place on U.S. soil for the first Shifter, who recently retired of corrupt rule that fol-
people close to the Salva- the lengths to which U.S. time since it was launched as head of the Washing- lowed the end of the coun-
doran president, who in- officials went to avoid an in 1994. ton-based Inter-American try’s bloody civil war.q

U.S. Military: 5 Marines killed in aircraft

crash in desert

By JULIE WATSON and Yuma, Arizona. matter of policy, the Marine
LOLITA C. BALDOR The aircraft was based at Corps would be contact-
Associated Press Camp Pendleton with Ma- ing family members before
SAN DIEGO (AP) — All five rine Aircraft Group 39 and identifying those who were
Marines on board an Os- was part of the 3rd Marine killed. Efforts to recover
prey aircraft were killed Aircraft Wing headquar- equipment were underway
when it crashed in the tered at Marine Corps Air and an investigation into
California desert near the Station Miramar in San Di- the cause of the crash has
Arizona border, the Marine ego. started. No additional de-
Corps said Thursday, a day “We mourn the loss of our tails were provided in the A MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft flies at Marine Corps Air Facility
after the accident. Marines in this tragic mis- Marine Corps statement. at Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Va., on on Aug. 3, 2012.
The MV-22 Osprey went hap,” Maj. Gen. Bradford J. The Marines were partici- Associated Press
down at 12:25 p.m. Gering, commanding gen- pating in a routine live-fire plane and helicopter, flew airplane.
Wednesday during training eral of the 3rd Marine Air- training over their gunnery in the wars in Iraq and Af- Versions of the aircraft are
in a remote area in Imperial craft Wing, said in a state- range in the Imperial Val- ghanistan but has been flown by the Marine Corps,
County near the commu- ment. “Our hearts go out ley desert, said Marine Maj. criticized by some as un- Navy and Air Force.
nity of Glamis, about 115 to their families and friends Mason Englehart, spokes- safe. It is designed to take Prior to Wednesday’s
miles (185 kilometers) east as they cope with this trag- person for the 3rd Marine off like a helicopter, rotate crash, Osprey crashes had
of San Diego and about 50 edy.” Aircraft Wing. its propellers to a horizontal caused 46 deaths, the Los
miles (80 kilometers) from The statement said as a The Osprey, a hybrid air- position and cruise like an Angeles Times reported.q